Bruce Willis reprised his role as the irascible, tenacious John McClane in the fifth installment of Twentieth Century Fox’s Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard in IMAX this President’s weekend. Opening as perfect counter-programming on Valentine’s Day, the R-rated action broke the losing streak that films of the genre have experienced of late. And with $33,239,00 since it opened on Thursday, it has taken out the romantic competition. Audiences found excitement in the premise of the film, which teams McClane with his grown son Jack (Jai Courtney) and the use of Russia as a backdrop. Built-in brand recognition for both the franchise (with over $1.1 billion in WW revenue) and the McClane character ensured that this film “Yippee-ki-yay-ed” itself to the top of the box office chart this weekend.
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Of course, no Valentine’s weekend would be complete without a little love from Nicholas Sparks, whose Safe Haven from Relativity Media made its debut appropriately on Valentine’s Day with just over $30 million for the four days. Starring the impossibly good-looking Julianne Hough &amp; Josh Duhamel, the film is elevated above the standard for this genre by solid direction from Lasse Halstrom (The Cider House Rules, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) and an intriguing premise. The PG-13 film couldn't, however, best the raunchy comedy Identity Thief this Valentine's Day weekend.
After a much better than expected $34.5 million debut last weekend, Identity Thief was represented well in the box office mix with newly crowned comedy star Melissa McCarthy and her co-star Jason Bateman, who offered a major challenge to the newcomers this weekend. The R-rated comedy enjoyed a $23.4 million Friday through Sunday gross, placing it at number two with a cumulative gross of $70.7 million by the end of the weekend.
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In an effort not leave kids and families out of the President’s Day/Valentine's equation, The Weinstein Co. delivered Escape From Planet Earth in 3-D. The PG-rated animated film features the voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and William Shatner and drew a respectable $16 million over the long weekend.
There is yet another Valentine’s Day release: Warner Bros. presented Beautiful Creatures, a PG-13 fantasy romance that melds an older and younger cast (à la The Hunger Games) into a mythological love story that will also draw a solid audience of romance-seeking couples this weekend. The film boasts a solid cast including Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson, yet it only broke $7.4 million for the long weekend.
Filling out the rest of the chart, Summit Entertainment’s Warm Bodies remained a top draw pulling in $9 million along with Open Road’s Side Effects with $6.3 million and Oscar contenders Silver Lining Playbook from The Weinstein Co. with $6 million, Zero Dark Thirty from Sony with $3.1 million, and Paramount’s Hansel &amp; Gretel at just under $3.5 million in what should prove to be one of the better performing President’s weekend holiday frames on record.
[Photo Credit: Frank Masi/20th Century Fox]
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Bruce Willis reprises his role as the irascible, tenacious John McClane in the fifth installment of Twentieth Century Fox’s Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard in IMAX this President’s weekend. Opening as perfect counter-programming on Valentine’s Day, the R-rated action film looks to break the losing streak that films of the genre have experienced of late. A likely gross of well over $40 million for the five-day Thursday through Monday frame is expected with audiences likely to find excitement in the premise of the film, which teams McClane with his grown son Jack (Jai Courtney) and the use of Russia as a backdrop. Built-in brand recognition for both the franchise (with over $1.1 billion in WW revenue) and the McClane character will ensure that this film will “Yippee-ki-yay” itself to the top of the box office chart this weekend.
RELATED: 'Identity Theft' Steals Box Office
Of course, no Valentine’s weekend would be complete without a little love from Nicholas Sparks, whose Safe Haven from Relativity Media makes its debut appropriately on Valentine’s Day with an expected $20 million plus for the five days. Starring the impossibly good-looking Julianne Hough &amp; Josh Duhamel, the film is elevated above the standard for this genre by solid direction from Lasse Halstrom (The Cider House Rules, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) and an intriguing premise. The PG-13 film should earn in the low to mid-$20 millions for the five-day period.
There is yet another Valentine’s Day release to join the hit parade as Warner Bros. presents Beautiful Creatures, a PG-13 fantasy romance that melds an older and younger cast (à la The Hunger Games) into a mythological love story that will also draw a solid audience of romance-seeking couples this weekend. The film boasts a solid cast including Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson. Expected for the film is a gross in excess of $20 million for the long weekend.
RELATED: What Makes a 'Die Hard' Movie a 'Die Hard' Movie?
In an effort not leave kids and families out of the President’s Day/Valentine's equation, opening Friday from The Weinstein Co. is Escape From Planet Earth in 3-D. The PG-rated animated film features the voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and William Shatner and should draw respectable crowds over the long weekend.
After a much better than expected $34.5 million debut last weekend, Identity Thief will be represented well in the box office mix with newly crowned comedy star Melissa McCarthy and her co-star Jason Bateman, offering a major challenge a couple of the newcomers this weekend. A 50 percent weekend over weekend drop would still give the R-rated comedy a $17 million Friday through Sunday gross, placing it in major contention for one of the top spots with a cumulative gross in the $60 million plus range by the end of the weekend.
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Filling out the rest of the chart, Summit Entertainment’s Warm Bodies will remain a top draw along with Open Road’s Side Effects and Oscar contenders Silver Lining Playbook from The Weinstein Co., Zero Dark Thirty from Sony, and Paramount’s Hansel &amp; Gretel in what should prove to be one of the better performing President’s weekend holiday frames on record.
Photo Credit: Frank Masi/20th Century Fox
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Paramount Pictures PG-rated Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (read the review) from Dreamworks Animation held onto first place for the second weekend in a row with a 41% drop and $35.5 million for the weekend. Having already crossed the $100 million mark internationally from 28 territories on Wednesday, the family favorite easily finished the weekend with over $120 million in North America. The film features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Fox's sci-fi horror film Prometheus from acclaimed director Ridley Scott entered its second weekend with close to $70 million in North America and a three-day gross of $20.2 million. With a terrific ensemble cast featuring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron, this highly anticipated R-rated return to the sci-fi noir genre that Scott helped define, audiences gave the film a solid second weekend showing and close to $90 million in North America by Sunday night.
In third place earning $15.06 million in its debut, “Rock of Ages” is the big screen adaptation of the massively popular stage musical of the same name and features Tom Cruise as megalomaniac rock star Stacee Jaxx and an impressive ensemble cast including Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand. Helmer Adam Shankman, who directed 2007’s musical hit “Hairspray” is thoroughly in his element here and Cruise, Baldwin and Brand give a memorable performances that will have audiences talking.
Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman (read the review) makes its mark in its third weekend of release with a gross of $13.8 million. Having already crossed the $100 million mark in North America this past Monday, the PG-13 rated fairy tale will pass the $120 million mark by the end of the weekend. Charlize Theron chews up the scenery as the Evil Queen while Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth do their best to keep up in this stylish adaptation by first-time director Rupert Sanders.
Rounding out the top 5 with a less-than-expected $13 million in its opening weekend, Adam Sandler delves into R-rated territory with “That’s My Boy” co-starring SNL’s Adam Samberg as Sandler’s estranged son who was the result of a inappropriate teenage fling with a teacher. Raunchy comedy ensues as Samberg deals with his man-child of a father who suddenly re-enters his life and wreaks havoc on his formerly calm existence. Vanilla Ice appears as himself in a cast rounded out by 70’s pop star Tony Orlando and veteran actor James Caan.
Sony’s Men in Black 3 (read the review) starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin takes sixth place in its fourth weekend with $9.6 million and over $150 million to date in N. America and $544.3M worldwide. Disney’s mega-blockbuster Marvel’s “The Avengers” earns $8.9M in its seventh weekend with $586.7 million in domestic revenue and $1.419.8 million globally to date.
A “down” weekend vs. the comparable frame a year ago when Warner Bros.’ “Green Lantern” led the weekend with $53.174 million. Summer-to-date revenues are running just over 1% ahead of last year.
Weekend Box Office (Estimates)
Top Movies for Weekend of June 15, 2012
Movie Weekend Gross Total to Date
1 Madagascar 3 (PG) $35.5M $120.45M
2 Prometheus (R) $20.2M $88.86M
3 Rock of Ages (PG13) $15.06M $15.06M
4 Snow White and the Huntsman (PG13) $13.8M $122.6M
5 That’s My Boy (R) $13.0M $13.0M

Paramount Pictures' PG-rated Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (read the review) from Dreamworks Animation should hold onto first place for the second weekend in a row with a drop in the low 40% range and $35 million plus for the weekend. Having already crossed the $100 million mark internationally from 28 territories on Wednesday, the family favorite will easily finish the weekend with over $110 million in North America. The film features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Fox's sci-fi horror film Prometheus from acclaimed director Ridley Scott will enter its second weekend with close to $70 million in North America and an expected gross in the $25 to $30 million range. With a terrific cast featuring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron, this highly anticipated R-rated return to the sci-fi noir genre that Scott helped define, this visual tour-de-force should have a solid second weekend showing and close to $100 million in North America by Sunday night.
This leaves two newcomers to duke it out for third and fourth place with both Warner Bros. PG-13 musical Rock of Ages (debuting in 3470 theaters) and Sony’s R-rated That’s My Boy (debuting in 3030 theaters) expected to each earn in the high teen to low $20 million range. Rock of Ages is the big screen adaptation of the massively popular stage musical of the same name and features Tom Cruise as megalomaniac rock star Stacee Jaxx and an impressive ensemble cast including Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand. Helmer Adam Shankman, who directed 2007’s musical hit “Hairspray” is thoroughly in his element here and Cruise, Baldwin and Brand give a memorable performances that will have audiences talking. Adam Sandler always seems to find an audience in the summer, though this time he delves into R-rated territory with That’s My Boy co-starring SNL’s Andy Samberg as Sandler’s estranged son who was the result of a inappropriate teenage fling with a teacher. Raunchy comedy ensues as Samberg deals with his man-child of a father who suddenly re-enters his life and wreaks havoc on his formerly calm existence. Vanilla Ice appears as himself in a cast rounded out by 70’s pop star Tony Orlando and veteran actor James Caan.
Rounding out the top five, Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman (read the review) will make its mark in its third weekend of release with a gross of around $10 million. Having already crossed the $100 million mark in North America on Monday, the PG-13 rated fairy tale should be closing in on $120 million by the end of the weekend. Charlize Theron chews up the scenery as the Evil Queen while Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth do their best to keep up in this stylish adaptation by first-time director Rupert Sanders.
Sony’s Men in Black 3 (read the review) starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin will enter its fourth weekend with over $140 million in North America and Disney’s release of Marvel’s The Avengers enters its seventh weekend with around $578 million in domestic revenue.
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Christina Aguilera and Cher's new movie, Burlesque, premieres in Hollywood tonight, but don't feel bad if you can't find the funds to fly out there! Starting at 9:30 PM E.S.T (or 6:30 PM P.S.T), you can watch all the action from the red carpet LIVE, using the video player below. Expect to catch glimpses of stars Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Stanley Tucci and Dianna Agron, in addition to Jane Lynch, Nicole Richie, Rachel Zoe, Ricki Lake, Rebecca Gayheart and Channing Tatum. It's the perfect way to get excited for the film's release, on November 24th.